Vision

In the coming decade, Lafayette expects to strengthen its position among liberal arts colleges and engineering programs of the first rank; through judicious commitment of its considerable resources, it seeks to advance the quality of its students, its faculty, and its programs. Lafayette will continue to enroll students who show evidence not only of academic achievement but of intellectual curiosity, and who show promise of becoming engaged citizens within and beyond the College community. It will continue to recruit and support a faculty of teachers / scholars of high quality who see undergraduate teaching as their primary goal and who are committed to scholarship and to an active professional life. Lafayette will continue to shape its academic program with the goal of assuring that a clear, consistent, and demanding curriculum is in place for all students, requiring study in the arts, the sciences, and technology, and encouraging such study beyond the introductory level. In addition, it will continue to work toward greater integration of A.B. and B.S. programs so that all students may be the beneficiaries not only of specialized inquiry but of connected, interdisciplinary inquiry as well. And it will continue to develop a curriculum that furthers the traditional values of a liberal education while remaining responsive to emerging societal needs. As part of its commitment, Lafayette will seek ways to assure that ethical studies are a regular component of each student's course of study.

The College will strengthen its honors and independent study programs, with the goal of engaging more students in scholarly projects and involving more faculty and students in collaborative learning. Individual attention to students and faculty-student interaction outside the classroom, always goals of the College, will be encouraged through an increasingly favorable student-faculty ratio and small class size. At the same time, the College, understanding the value of exposure to other cultures, will continue to increase opportunities for students to study abroad and will continue to work in other ways to internationalize the campus.

Because Lafayette knows the potential for learning and growth outside the academic program, it will continue to nurture a campus environment that stimulates and nourishes students both as individuals and as members of a community. With the Farinon College Center and the Williams Center for the Arts as hubs of activity, the College will foster an atmosphere characterized by a diversity of opportunities for participation, volunteer service, and student leadership. It will offer an expanding array of living options that encourage healthy relations between women and men and provide an environment that encourages personal growth. It will also continue to increase opportunities for students of color and to work to achieve greater racial and ethnic diversity among students, faculty, and staff.

Members of the Lafayette community have always believed in working together to create a College that they and others value; their collective commitment for the coming years is to extend and enhance the value of the Lafayette experience and the prestige of the Lafayette College degree.